


It'll Be Alright

by Bryellii



Category: South Park
Genre: I wrote it at 2am and it has no editing, M/M, and it's honestly just a really bad fic, this is somehow my most popular fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-23
Updated: 2018-01-23
Packaged: 2019-03-08 11:00:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13456827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bryellii/pseuds/Bryellii
Summary: After a run-in with the boy who had captured his heart all those years ago, Craig is determined to try and fix the broken friendship between them.





	It'll Be Alright

**Author's Note:**

> **UPDATE :: 4/03/18**
> 
> I'll most likely be re-writing this in the future
> 
> I typed this story up at 2am, and in all honesty I have no clue as to how this is my most popular fic
> 
> I have improved my writing a LOT since I decided to create this abomination, so if you actually want something quality, then I _highly_ suggest reading some of my newer works

It all started as a small, simple crush when they were very little. They were young, and didn’t know any better. His parents thought it was a phase that he would leave as he grew older. But at nine years old, they realized that he was, in fact, gay. He had began to date Tweek, and had grown to love him over the years, forgetting all about the crush he once had on his former best friend. Clyde had not been a name that he heard for many years, and he had almost forgotten that the boy existed.

He didn’t know how. Clyde was the one who stood up for him on his first day in South Park Elementary. The kids they went to school with were brutal, somehow always finding things to use against others. But not him. No, he was the nicest kid he ever met. He was an outcast, and was easily targeted. He acted like he didn’t care, but deep down, it really hurt him. He was different from them, he knew that for a fact. But then Clyde swept in, and Craig had never been bothered again. They had been friends ever since, that is, until fourth grade rolled around.

Craig had begun to hang out with his boyfriend, Tweek, more and more often. Clyde realized that he would never be getting his best friend back, and left it at that. He hadn’t dared to bother him again, for fear of being the third-wheel, or that Craig would get mad that Clyde was ruining alone time with Tweek. Craig hadn’t noticed the longing stares he had received from the brunette, the heartbroken looks that he had whenever the noirette passed by, fingers intertwined with Tweek’s.

They were no longer kids now. Craig and Tweek’s love didn’t last, but their friendship did. Eventually, the blond had almost entirely covered the picture that was once Clyde Donovan. He seemed much happier being in Tweek’s presence, but he guessed it was because they had known each other much, much longer. Eleventh grade, and they were ex-lovers, but still amazing friends.

It was another normal day, well, for the most part. Stan and his friends had left early to go on another of their infamous adventures, and he was just waiting for them to return with the government tracking them down for stealing the Declaration of Independence or some shit like that. But he supposed he could just enjoy the day while he could.

He suddenly felt something-- no, someone-- slam into him, knocking him off of his feet and causing him to slide down the lockers. His glare couldn’t have been any harsher as he looked up, and his heart almost stopped. It had been seven years since he saw his face, but wished he hadn’t. The tears were already dribbling down his pudgy cheeks, and he looked like a wreck. “I… I’m so sorry, I-- I gotta go.” Craig couldn’t even respond, saying it was okay or that he missed him, as Clyde was already running in the opposite direction.

He never understood him, never fully knew why Clyde would suddenly burst into tears at moments like this. Maybe it was all too much for him. It had been seven whole years, after all. He had only gotten more emotional, he believed. And now that he thought about it, he hadn’t heard anything about Clyde these past seven years. It was as if he just stopped existing.

He sighed to himself, then decided to head to fourth period. Tweek was in that class with him, so he could possibly talk to him about this.

Upon arriving, he was greeted with a few stares, and a large grin from a very certain coffee-meth addict. He took his normal seat beside the boy, trying to ignore the looks he was receiving. He could’ve flipped them off, or cussed them out, but he didn’t. Tweek had said that they were rather bad habits, and he had made sure to try and get rid of them. Though, they did slip sometimes.

“...What the hell is with everyone?” Craig asked, locking eyes with Tweek, who only shrugged in response. “I dunno, man! They haven’t-- haven’t even spoken a word since they-- ngh-- entered the room!” He somehow managed to whisper out. “Really? That’s… weird. Say, I ran into someone today. Well, they ran into me…” He responded, leaning back in the chair. Tweek tilted his head, wanting him to continue. “Honestly, I forgot he existed for a good while. He just bumped into me, then ran off in tears. Knowing him, he’s probably bawling in the bathroom,” he muttered, blue eyes now focusing on the blackboard in the front.

“Who-- Who was it?” Tweek questioned, leaning forward onto the desk. He was clearly intrigued now.

“You remember Clyde, right?”

Tweek’s face twisted into one of confusion, then he frowned. “Hey, man, that’s-- that’s not very funny,” he said, brows knitted together in concern. Craig locked eyes with him once more. “What do you mean? It’s true, and you know that for a fact. Clyde’s a huge fucking crybaby, he’s always been.”

Silence followed after that, and Tweek moved to sit back in the chair, though fidgeted from having to sit still for so long. Class started after the bell rang, and Craig almost immediately droned out whatever the teacher was trying to tell the class.

The bell suddenly rang out, which caused Craig to jerk forward, hitting his head on the desk and making him hiss in pain. He glanced up at the clock, realizing that he must have slept through most of the class. He stood up and walked out with Tweek, their elbows bumping against each other as they walked to lunch. They were both silent, but it was a comfortable sort of silence. He never had this with Clyde, and honestly, he could have cared less.

The thought lingered, though. Everybody knew Clyde was an emotional little prick, so why would that be rude to point out? People talked about it constantly when they were younger, so why should it suddenly matter now? Exactly, it shouldn’t. He was still one of Clyde’s friends, he supposed, so he should be allowed to talk about him if he so chose to.

The lunchroom was strangely quiet for once, but Craig figured it was because a whole table was missing, out on some adventure. He scanned the cafeteria, looking for any sign of Clyde, but found nothing. Maybe he had gone home… Yeah, he must have gone home. Clyde couldn’t control his emotions, and he usually couldn’t stop crying when he started. He pitied the guy for it, but ignored it nonetheless. It wasn’t his problem at all.

When he went to turn around, he saw a tuft of neatly combed, brown hair and the familiar red-and-white Letterman's jacket. Telling Tweek he’d be right back, he quickly made his way out of the lunchroom and down the hallway, but found it to be completely void of any life. Where the hell could he have gone? They hallway was long, and there were no other halls connecting to it. And there was no possible way that Clyde could have made it to the turn at the very end of the hall, especially when he had just passed by the doorway.

Craig figured he was going mad, making himself more and more paranoid by just thinking about Clyde. And the more he thought about him, the more he realized that he could never replace the guy. Not even with Tweek, who he believed knew him way better than Clyde ever could.

He was wrong. He was extremely wrong for having to ever think that. Nobody knew him better than Clyde, not even Craig himself. He knew of all the abuse and hate he received from his father over the years after he started dating Tweek. He never told Tweek about it, for obvious reasons, but always went to Clyde.

He soon found that he had stopped walking some time ago, thoughts now lingering on Clyde.

Everyone had always found him so obnoxious, so very annoying just for trying to be positive when it was easy to tell just how much he was hurting. And he realized then that he was really the only person that Clyde had. His mother was dead, which was the reason why his father had become so cruel towards the boy, Bebe had given up on him for good, going after Jason instead, and his sister was long gone, living somewhere in Kansas with her family.

He was the one friend that Clyde actually had, and he simply replaced him with a guy who barely even knew him.

Craig should have been apologizing to Clyde earlier, not the other way around. He was the real reason why Clyde hadn’t been happy, why he had been driven away. The guy broke easily, and seeing him be so much happier with a boy who just so happened to be drawn into some weird yaoi art thing by Asian chicks with him.

Clyde was the first boy he ever actually liked, no, loved. And he had been pushed into a false reality with Tweek instead, never being able to admit his feelings.

It hurt him to think about this, it truly did. And suddenly, he saw Clyde standing in front of him. His hazel eyes staring into Craig’s own blue ones. Neither said a word, just standing there in complete and utter silence. He was so ready to finally tell Clyde about his feelings, to apologize for completely forgetting that he was the one who was truly there for him his whole life. The first friend he ever actually had, and the only one he really wanted to keep around.

But he couldn’t say anything, and the air around him was suddenly freezing. Was this what regret felt like? Maybe it was, but he wasn’t sure. He didn’t know anything anymore. It was all too much, and he suddenly felt sick. Very sick. Almost like he would throw up right then and there. But he didn’t, he couldn’t.

“Craig,” Clyde’s voice cracked and he was on the brink of tears, “I’m so sorry.” He didn’t understand. Why would Clyde be apologizing? He didn’t abandon his best friend, or even tried to replace him. “You don’t have to be,” Craig responded, “I should be the one who says that.” And it was true. After all the thinking he had done, he realized just how half-assed he had been.

Craig finally got a good look at Clyde. He still looked rather young, not even close to looking 17 or even 18. He had the complexion of some 15-year-old who just… gave up, realizing that it was futile to even attempt to get rid of the acne that covered his face, which should have been long taken care of by now. He noticed he was a little slimmer, though, but still chubby. Still cute as ever.

Clyde suddenly shook his head, “No, Crag. Don’t even think about taking the blame here. I left you alone all those years ago, yet here I am now. Standing right in front of you and listening to you try and take the blame again, but it’s not your fault.”

He didn’t know if he could have been possibly more confused than earlier, but he was. No… no, Clyde never left him… right? Yeah, he never did. Craig was the one who just suddenly stopped talking to him altogether, stopped hanging out with him for favor of Tweek instead.

But before he could respond with something that would have potentially started an argument, there was a rather harsh tug on his shoulder. Craig whipped around, seeing as it was Tweek, who had an unreadable expression on his face. “Dude, come on. Lunch is almost-- almost over,” he said. “But, Clyde was just--” and when Craig turned back around, Clyde was no longer standing there. He let out a sigh, realizing that he had missed another opportunity at confessing everything.

After allowing Tweek to drag him back into the lunchroom, he had seated himself on a bench, but found that he just wasn’t hungry. He hated how Tweek had to come and ruin such a perfect moment, albeit awkward. He stayed glaring at the table while Tweek went to grab a tray, lost in his thoughts for a good while. He hadn’t even looked up when he heard plastic hitting the surface of the table. And this worried Tweek. He placed his hand on Craig’s arm, which had managed to catch the noirette’s attention, to some extent.

“What do you want, Tweek,” he stated, icy blue orbs glaring into lime-green ones. “I want to know what the-- what the fuck has been going on with you today!” He said, clearly agitated by Craig’s behaviour. But honestly, the guy could care less about what Tweek felt. He was angered that he ruined that one chance he got to apologize. He highly doubted that Clyde would even glance in his direction now, even if they just so happened to cross paths again.

“Oh, no, I get it! This is about Clyde, huh? Am I right?” He questioned in that annoyingly shrill voice of his. And then Craig wondered what he even saw in Tweek. He was so easy to be aggravated with, and that was just because of his annoying, high-pitched, voice-cracking voice. Man, how did he even put up with this guy?

But he nodded anyways, and Tweek let out a frustrated huff. “Right, I get it. Meet me out back after school. There’s something I need to tell you.” And with that, Tweek stood up and took his tray over to Token and Jimmy’s table instead. He supposed it was for the best.

The rest of the day just dragged on for what seemed like forever. He was rather curious about what Tweek had to say, but tried his best to ignore it. He would probably just request that he take Stripe back again, like he had wanted when they were still in the fourth grade during that horrible mini break-up. They had gotten back a few days after, thanks to some kid who he forgot the name of, but in the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t worth it.

And suddenly Craig’s thoughts shifted back to Clyde. He already missed the somewhat nasally voice and those sad, hazel eyes that would probably spill with tears at any moment. Or at least until something rude was said to him.

He realized that he had been thinking about Clyde more often than he should. He hadn’t seen nor spoken to him in so long, and he probably shouldn’t have sudden thoughts of him like this. Not until he apologized for everything he had done to hurt the boy.

But when he thought of Clyde, things seemed to speed up. The final bell rang out and everyone dispersed into the hallway, going in all different directions to reach a certain destination of theirs. Craig shoved past a majority of them, and eventually found the backdoor to the school. As promised, Tweek was standing there, all bundled up and ready to leave for home.

“Come on, let’s get going,” he said, motioning for Craig to follow him. He noticed they were going the wrong way, the opposite direction of civilization. Tweek led Craig through the forest, silence falling between them. It wasn’t like before, though. The air was thick and he felt like he couldn’t breathe. It was tense, and he was sure Tweek could feel the tension, too.

They walked past Stark’s Pond, which was frozen due to the cold weather, and went deeper into the woods. Craig felt slightly uncomfortable now; where the fuck were they even going? There was nothing interesting out here. He knew that for a fact,

Then he noticed the stone tablet a few feet in front of them. There were ferns covering the majority of it, an indication that the grave had been here for quite some time now. But the name…

Craig’s heart stopped. No, there was no way. It was impossible.

 

**Here lies Clyde Donovan,**

**The best friend that anyone could ever have**

**April 10, 2000 - October 28, 2015**

 

He suddenly felt sick again, but he couldn’t throw up. He was too much in shock, and couldn’t even move. All he could do was stare at it. That was the anniversary of their friendship, and of his and Tweek’s relationship. But when did he…?

“It was supposed to be his day with you,” Tweek suddenly spoke up, “He-- He tried to remind you of it, but you told him to ‘fuck off’ and he never showed up again. Token and I, we-- we went looking for him when he wouldn’t answer our calls and-- and…” He swallowed, hard. “We found him in his room, cuts up and down his arms and legs and a-- a bullet through his head.”

Craig stayed silent. He never realized how much he really hurt Clyde.

“His dad, man, he was just so cruel about it and-- and said he didn’t care what happened to the body, as long as it was-- was out of his-- ngh-- out of his house,” Tweek continued, “Token and I, we brought him out here. We tried to tell you to come with, but-- but you said you were ‘too busy.’”

Craig had fallen to his knees, still in a state of shock. It was as if his brain had stopped working for good. And it probably did. He felt so emotionless, even more than usual.

He realized that today was October 28. And thirteen years ago, he had met the most amazing kid he would have ever known. The first time he really actually felt like he had some sort of heart, and it was all because of one boy who decided that Craig was worth defending.

He remembered that after school he had been picked up by his mom, wearing the largest grin he ever had. __

_ Mom, Mom! This boy, Clyde, I think, he was real nice, and I-- I think I love him!’ _

And over the years, that feeling had grown. Everyday he found himself falling for Clyde again and again, just because he was himself. But now everything had lost meaning to him. Had he really gone this long without noticing that Clyde was gone for good?

No, he noticed alright. The school was all over the news within the first week. The questions he had been asked were vague, but persistent. And he suddenly knew that everyone was asking about Clyde, about what happened. Then it all just died down the next week when Kyle admitted to the world that he and Stan were in a relationship, the same thing being done with Butters and Kenny, and nobody ever spoke of Clyde again.

Tweek was long gone by now, but Craig didn’t care. He felt a single tear roll down his cheek, followed by more and more with each passing second.

He finally was able to stand, then continued down the pathway, further into the forest to think things over, to let everything sink in.

He never made it out.

But when he woke up, he was in a place he did not recognize. It was awfully bright, too bright for him, but somebody was sitting in front of him.

He could see the mess of brown hair and a large smile beaming at him.

“I missed you, Craig.”

“I missed you, too, Clyde, and I think I should tell you something that has been unsaid for far too long."


End file.
